Brought to a standstill by back pain.

I was not sure I wanted to write this week’s post at all, but I know that back pain affects so many of us so I felt it was important to be honest with you. And there’s a lesson to be learnt somewhere along the line!

You may or may not know that I was first introduced to Pilates in my twenties as I suffered from lower back pain, and Pilates was like a magic pill. It required a certain amount of hard work and self motivation, but over time it really worked. Back pain was finally a thing of the past. I was so sold on the benefits that I trained to become a teacher. My back stayed strong as long as I put in the work, and all was good… until lockdown came along.

Zoom has been a blessing during these months for so many of us, enabling us to stay in contact with family, friends, colleagues and clients. I have been able to continue teaching, and have also taken the opportunity to learn from amazing teachers from all over the world without having to move from my home studio. However four months of teaching Pilates to a computer screen, with my head turned at an awkward angle, has taken its toll and this week I have been brought to a standstill by bouts of acute lower back pain.

I know that many of you, like me, turned to Pilates to solve your lower back issues, and I feel a fraud admitting that despite practising what I preach, I too am suffering.

But if I dig a bit deeper, I realise that I wasn’t really practising what I preached. I was demonstrating much of the class, often while looking at my computer screen (a big no-no we were taught during our training, but Zoom was something new and none of us really knew how to navigate the rules).

My USP is that I actually correct what I see you lovely people doing on your mats. I know you each individually, I know your injuries and your potential, and I make sure that you are exercising safely and to the best of your ability. Would I have allowed you to do a spine curl with your head turned to one side? Nope! And yet, I was doing it multiple times a day, five days a week. An injury waiting to happen.

But let’s look at the positives that this episode brings to my teaching.

Firstly, I get it, I know how debilitating back pain (or any pain for that matter) can be. I have been there too, in fact I am there right now. I also know that Pilates is my way out of this pain. It will not be a quick fix, it may take months, but the only time I am really pain free at the moment is when I am working out on my reformer. And I’ll be spending a lot of time there over the next month.

I also want it to serve as a reminder to those of you who take online classes, to think about how you are aligned next time you take a class with me or anyone else. Try not to spend too much time looking at the screen. Have the confidence to listen to the words you hear and try to translate them into your body without taking that reassuring sideways glance at the screen. The way our brains work means the exercises will become second nature much more quickly this way than if you are simply copying what you see without thinking.

And finally it is worth saying that I truly believe that Pilates still works. We just have to make sure that we practise it regularly, and that we always strive to work in the best alignment possible. Of course I knew that, I just decided to ignore it in my efforts to save my business and give you the best service I could during these strange times.

This next week is my last week of teaching before I take August off. I will still be teaching you all with the same enthusiasm but you will see more of my face on your screen talking you through each exercise, and less of me moving. I’m no ballerina after all, so it may not be such a bad thing! And if you want to see me for a 1:1 on my reformer this week, be quick, it is in demand!

Take care everyone,

Caroline xxx